Browsing Tag
Leah Gunn
by Patricia Lesko
Erica Briggs, Jennifer Eyer and Lisa Disch all announced their respective candidacies for City Council and the 2020 primary election well over a year in advance. The trio, on their websites, talk about progressive!-->!-->!-->…
“Let Them Eat Art!” Why Refusing To Kill The Percent for Art Program Could Mean the Ouster of More Local Pols
We begin with a fairytale: Once Upon A Time there were five Ann Arbor City Council members named Sandi Smith, Carsten Hohnke, Leigh Greden, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. They all unquestioningly supported Ann Arbor's Percent for…
MI 52nd District Race Boils Down to Bamboozling Naive Dems & Independents. Again.
by P.D. Lesko
52nd District Representative Mark Ouimet and Governor Rick Snyder both let mainstream media assumptions that they were moderate Republicans go uncorrected. The last laugh, in retrospect, has been on all of the Ann Arbor and…
“Dark Side” Beckons & Local Pol Answers The Call
Ward 1 City Council member Sabra Briere recently voted to kill a resolution intended to protect parkland from de facto sale through leasing—a strategy being used by John Hieftje and his Council pals to try to "repurpose" a several acre…
Someone’s Not Feeling the Love: City Council Colleagues Donate Zip, Zero, Nada to This Incumbent
by P.D. Lesko
Tony D.'s campaign finance forms turned in on time to the Washtenaw County Clerk's office show that he has raised $8,475 to finance his effort to defeat challenger Sally Hart Petersen. Interestingly, Derezinski reported…
Dems in This Liberal Bastion Label Strong Women Candidates Incredibly Vag-ifficult
by P.D. Lesko
In Ann Arbor it's often tough to decide who's more addled, the politicos or the voters.
In August of 2010 Ann Arbor County Commish Barbara Levin Bergman actually spoke in favor of hiring of sexual predators into county jobs.…
Six Candidates Now Poised to Run For Mayor & City Council
by P.D. Lesko
It's February, and in another 60 days or so those in the mood to run for mayor and City Council as Democrats or Republicans will have gone to the City Clerk's office and taken out petitions. Those running as Independents have…
Look Out Boys! The Über Spinster Lets Down Her Hair
by P.D. Lesko
I read it, and I laughed. Out loud. I read it again, and laughed even more. I kept reading. Sometimes, I get bored and quit in the middle. Other times, reading this stuff is like taking flax seed oil. It's good for me, so I…
Savaged: County Commishes Suggest Euthanizing Local Humane Society Over Money Dispute
By Chris Savage
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."— attributed to Mohandas Gandhi
What would you call a group of municipal leaders that was receiving $1.5 million in…
Rep. John Dingell’s Endorsement Can’t Save Local City Council Member: Lumm Beats Rapundalo
by P.D. Lesko
U.S. Representative John Dingell and his wife Debbie couldn't save Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo's political hide. Dingell endorsed Rapundalo and donated $250 to his campaign. While challenger Jane Lumm spoke…